ReConnected
by lunastars
Summary: POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR SEASON 2 - "She leaves the thought hanging as she turns to go back to Sophia. Daryl stoops down and picks up his bow. "Carol?" he calls as she reaches the door. She turns slowly, hand on the door handle. "You and Sophia come to me for anything from now on, OK?"" - slight Caryl too


**A/N: **_These three have been on my mind for some reason! So here's what happened when I decided to write a one-shot about them..._

* * *

Daryl kicks the ground angrily, days have passed now, probably weeks, he's not sure, but even so, more than two days is too long for a little girl to be out in a walker infested world on her own. Daryl knows this, and he also knows that two days is asking for a bit too much. Daryl knows that there's a good chance that she didn't last the first few hours she was missing for but he hoped, to this very moment Daryl hopes that she did live, that she's still out there. But considering the condition she may be in he's unsure as to whether or not his hope is selfish or not.

Suddenly a hand rests on Daryl's shoulder. He shakes it off and turns to see Rick. He looks sympathetic, sorry, like even he is starting to doubt that Sophia could still be alive. The thought alone makes Daryl angry and without another word he stoops down and picks his bow up from its place by his feet. Without even a backwards glance he stalks off into the woods, grabbing his bag of supplies on the way.

"Sophia!" he calls as he first enters the woods. This is his recent hope, the hope that she has travelled so far that she is near the edge of the woods, a few footsteps away from safety. But she never is.

As his feet crush the twigs and leaves that litter the ground he realises that maybe he's being careless, slowly losing his faith that she is alive just like everyone else. He angrily fires a bolt for no reason and it hits a nearby tree. The throwback of the bow and the sound of the bolt cutting through the air calms him ever so slightly, enough to get his brain back on track.

He makes his way over to the tree. As he pulls his bolt out of the tree his eyes fall on something by his feet. Tracks. After the bolt is freed and attached back onto his crossbow he gets down on one knee for a better look. He prods the tracks curiously with one hand. Definitely human but that could easily mean a walker with both their legs and feet in tack. Upon closer inspection he realises that one is a foot print and one is a shoe print, a fact that screams walker to him but then the fact that the tracks are small enough for a child scares him and prompts him to follow them.

The tracks lead him deep into the woods. When he's halfway between the Greene farm and the highway the tracks suddenly jolt off to the right. He follows them, curiously stopping to examine the tracks in order to see if there's any big chances. But they're all in the same condition and it pains him when he realises that they're old, not too old but definitely not from today. He continues to follow them anyway.

Daryl's heart breaks when the track ends at the creek. The same creek where he had his accident, he's checked it once since then and again came up empty. But her doll was here and now her tracks, so maybe he had been wrong, maybe she was here. As he nears the edge he's careful not to slip and fall into the water. His eyes scan the creek… Water, twigs, dirt, rocks-

_Rocks_.

His eyes fall on a collection of rocks. They look deliberate, like they were placed their on purpose. And as his eyes zone in closer he's sure there's something on top. Quickly and quietly Daryl makes his way round the left side of the creek, heading straight towards the rock formation. He holds his crossbow up but he doesn't move slow enough to scan the area.

"What the fuck?" he questions as he reaches it.

The rocks are piled up in a semi-circle shaped wall, starting against the hill side then coming out and curving round to attach back against the hill side. It looks like part of it had been there for a while, like maybe they had slid down the hillside but the rest had been put there deliberately. They're small and it makes the wall uneven. There's moss and leaves covering over it like a roof. The formation is small, he could maybe sit in it if his knees were drawn up to himself. Maybe someone Carl's size could curl up inside and protect himself.

"Sophia?"

It's cautious and unsure but he repeats her name a few times, calling out to her. His hand gently reaches out and pulls the moss and leaves away bit by bit. His heart almost beats directly out of its chest when he sees the small form curled up into a ball. _Sophia_. She's unconscious but breathing. She looks like she could break in half with a single touch. He wonders how long she's been there. He wonders if she made the rest of the formation herself or if someone helped her.

He swings the bow onto his back and quietly leans in to lift her out. She's limp. If it wasn't for her chest rising and falling ever so slightly he would believe she's dead. He holds her close to his chest as he heads back towards the Greene farm.

As they walk Daryl hears the crunching of twigs and leaves. He realises that there's no way that he can carry her and fight off any walkers. Suddenly one bursts through the trees and he has to think fast. There are more of them now.

Daryl lowers her onto the floor and starts firing bolts at them. Reloading as fast as he possibly can. After the sixth one is down no more stumble out. He relaxes for a moment before swinging back into action. He swings his bow back onto his back and scoops down to pick Sophia up. This time he carries her fireman style. It probably isn't helping her fragile form but he needs at least one of his hands. He keeps one arm around her body while the other holds his knife, ready to fight off any walkers that may cross their path.

"Guys!" he screams as he breaks out of the woods.

When no one comes he swings Sophia down to cradle in his arms. He runs with her up towards the house and as he gets closer he screams again. God knows how long she was unconscious for, he couldn't afford to waste a single second.

"Daryl?" It's Rick and he's walking cautiously towards the hunter, gun in hand.

"Warn Hersehl," he shouts.

Rick motions for Glenn to go inside and do just that before he walks closer to Daryl. He almost collapses when he sees what Daryl is carrying, or rather who. He mumbles something that Daryl can't quite make out before he's running with Daryl up to the house. As they run Rick shouts at Carl to go and get Carol.

"What have we got?" Hershel asks as Daryl lays Sophia down on the table.

"Sophia," Daryl tells him.

"The little girl we've all been looking for," Rick explains.

Daryl narrows his eyes. Looking for her, sure, if that's what they want to call it. But slowly they had all lost the will power to search for her most days.

"Was she like this when you found her?"

Daryl nods. "Yeah."

Hershel nods to Patricia and they both slowly peel away her clothes until she's left in her underwear. They moved her gently, checking every angle for cuts and scratches. Carol chooses that exact moment to crash into the room. She's not sure if her daughter is there, all she knows is that Carl saw Daryl carrying something but she prays that that something is her daughter.

"Sophia," she breathes out.

Daryl runs to her and wraps his arms around her, he holds her back. She struggles against him. Her hands are outstretched and she makes grabbing actions with them.

"Daryl, let me go," she begs. "I need to see her."

"Not yet," he tells her.

Carol stops fighting but her body is tense against his. "Oh God, she hasn't been… She hasn't been bitten as she?"

Hershel finishes checking her. "No, she hasn't."

Carol lets out a sigh of relief. "What's wrong with her?"

"Exhaustion," Hershel guesses. "That's my best bet."

"What do we do?" she cries.

Hershel looks unsure and Daryl almost screams. All this effort to find her and the vet doesn't know what to do. But then again he is just a vet.

"We clean her up and get her comfy," he starts. "She's cold so we'll have to get her temperature up. Hopefully that will help to wake her up but if it doesn't I'll examine her properly, check for any other injuries."

"Can you help?"

Daryl doesn't realise at first that she's talking to him until he looks down at her. Carol is looking up at him expectantly. "Sure." He's not sure why she says it but he feels it's the right answer.

* * *

Daryl feels a hand tangling itself in his hair. As his eyes open he remembers where he is. He's in one of the bedrooms, the bedroom where Sophia is sleeping. He remembers that a couple of days ago they cleaned her with soaked clothes as best as they could and got her temperature up. Over those couple of days that had passed they had discovered no other injuries but from what Hershel could tell she was severally dehydrated and had definitely been put through the ringer. Daryl had stayed nearby since he found her and would venture into the room to sit with her every so often so Carol could do some things for herself, like eat and bathe.

The hand in his hair tugs slightly. He groans as he lifts his head. The hand falls away and lays on the bed. He realises he had fallen asleep. Sophia is still lying on the bed but she's awake, watching him carefully. Her eyes are only open slightly but she's definitely conscious. Daryl shifts uncomfortably for a moment.

"Hey," he says softly, not too sure how to start the conversation.

"Hi," she croaks out.

"Do you want me to get your Mom?" he asks gently.

Her only answer is a very slight nod. In an instant he lifts himself up and exits the room. His heart is beating fast and he knows he has to move quickly in case she loses consciousness again. He's rushing, running as fast as he can down the stairs to get Hershel and Carol.

They rush back upstairs after him after catching the look on his face. He keeps Carol back when they enter so that Hershel can check her over. Daryl moves Carol close enough to see but not too close that she'll get in the way. Daryl hears the faint footsteps of everyone coming down the hall towards them. They shuffle into the room but only Patricia moves over to help Hershel.

"Sophia?" he asks gently.

"Hmm," she mumbles.

Patricia has a bottle of water. She holds it Sophia's lips. The young girl takes a few sips, the pain of it travelling down her throat is etched on her face.

"Are you OK?" Hershel asks.

"No," she chokes out. "I don't feel well."

"Can you tell me how you feel?" Hershel prompts.

"Sore," she decides. "Tired. Hungry."

"OK," Hershel nods. "We can help."

"What happened, Sophia?" Carol asks softly.

The little girl looks at her Mom for the first time. Daryl's heart melts as a smile spreads across Sophia's face. His hands instantly drop and Carol stumbles forward, never stopping her clumsy actions until she's hugging Sophia. A quick scan of the room tells Daryl that some were crying while others tried not to.

"Yes, Sophia," Hershel says softly as they break apart. "What did happen?"

"I remember leaving when I shouldn't have." She glances over at Rick briefly who gives her a smile to tell her it's alright. Patricia makes her take another sip before continuing. "I stumbled around, but I couldn't find the highway."

"What did you do when you realised you couldn't find the highway?"

"I found a tent." Daryl cursed angrily, it would no doubt be the one they had found. "It smelt horrible but I saw the picnic bag. I only kept the sealed stuff and got rid of anything opened."

"What did you eat?" Hershel asks curiously.

"Some chips and chocolate," she shrugs, clearly unsure as to the exact amount. Again, she is made to take another sip, the slight croak to her voice is fading now already. "I drank some water too."

Hershel nods. "Can you remember how long ago it was?"

She shakes her head. "A while ago."

"Sophia," Daryl says softly as he takes a nervous step forward. "I found you hiding… Did you find that or did you make it?"

"I wondered down to the creek when I still had some food and water." Another sip from the bottle. "The rocks had fallen down so I added more day by day."

Daryl frowns. "Where did you sleep before then?"

"How much did you sleep?" Hershel added.

"Not often," she admits, taking yet another sip of water. As well as the croak in her voice, the pain on her face fades too. "Before I grew tired and ran out of supplies I climbed trees."

"Then after that?" Daryl mumbles.

"I had to rest my eyes when I could." Her voice is quieter, she's afraid. "I couldn't remember which way the creek was…"

"And you were out of food and water?" Patricia asks softly, letting Sophia hold the bottle now.

Sophia nods. "But I stumbled across it when I heard shuffling. I moved as fast as I could then I saw my rocks again. I climbed in to get away from them and curled up."

"Then you covered yourself up with the moss and leaves?" Daryl guesses.

She nods, her eyes never leaving him. It makes him feel comfortable but she looks relaxed so he doesn't run or snap at her for it. Her hand that isn't on the bottle flexes open and closed as if she's itching to do or say something.

"OK," Hershel decides. "Your Mom washed you up as best as she could but now you're awake you can have a soak. It'll be cold but that might help a little with the soreness."

"Food?" she asks hopefully.

He chuckles softly. "We're going to have to be careful, but we'll make you some soup."

* * *

An hour later Daryl hears his name being called. Everyone watches him as he leaves the room and heads upstairs towards the room where Sophia and Carol are. She didn't go for her bath straight away. Instead she sipped more of her water until half the bottle was gone. Then she sat with Carol who rubbed her daughter's skin soothingly while they talked. For the past twenty minutes Sophia had been bathing.

Daryl enters the room and goes to the en-suite door. "Carol?"

The door open suddenly and he takes a step back as she comes out. "Sophia is still bathing. Her muscles don't feel so tense anymore so I think she's really relaxing."

"Oh, good," he says nervously, not understanding the point.

"I wanted to get her food up here for when she comes out," Carol explains. "But I don't feel comfortable leaving her alone in there while I do. So I was wondering if you could look after her?"

"W-Why me?" he stutters.

"She seems to trust you." Carol gives him a bright smile. "I just need you to sit in here, the door will be open only a crack so you can hear her."

"Oh," he sighs with relief. Sitting outside the door shouldn't be too bad. She was twelve not two, she could bathe herself. "I can do that."

"Do you want any food while I'm down there?" she asks. "They have some bread rolls to go with the soup."

"A bread roll would be good," he nods.

She leaves the room and he takes a seat on the bed, resting his crossbow behind him. The bathroom is silent and it puts him on edge. Don't kids splash? Then he remembers how tired she was, how tired she probably still is and he forces himself to calm. At least until there's a loud splash.

He's on his feet in an instant. "Sophia?"

"Daryl?" she whimpers.

"Yeah," he tells her as he goes closer to the door. "It's me. Your Mom just went downstairs to get ya some food."

"Help?" she whispers.

He almost misses it but not quite. He considers his options and decides she's a harmless twelve year old girl. He pushes the door open, eyes closed in case she becomes uncomfortable. A slight giggle from her makes him open an eye. When he sees that she just looks tired he opens both eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't get out."

"Oh." His cheeks grow red with embarrassment. "Well your Mom will be back."

"Can't you help me?" she asks.

He mulls it over. Carol could handle it right? But then he realises that she probably couldn't. Patricia, Maggie and Carol had all helped to get a weak Sophia from the bed and into the bath. He frowns. Not entirely sure what to do.

"Can you hold yourself up?" he asks. She sits forward and holds onto the sides of the bath. He can see it's a strain. "OK…"

He nervously puts one arm round her back and the other under her bent knees. He lifts her out, pouring water over himself in the process. He places her on the toilet for a moment while he grabs a towel. He gently wraps it around her, trying to be as quick as possible. Gently Daryl lifts her up again and carries her into the bedroom where he lays her against the pillows on the bed.

Carol walks in a few minutes later as Daryl is using another towel to try and dry himself. She's shocked at first but soon relaxes. As she walks pass Daryl to the bed she asks him in a hush whisper to stay. He complies by grabbing his bow and taking the bread roll she passes to him before sitting on the chair in the corner of the room.

He watches as Carol spoon feeds Sophia. It takes her a good half an hour or so to eat half of the soup. Every time Sophia takes a sip she recoils in pain. It's hot unlike the water and her throat as grown sore again with the absence of liquid. So half way through the bowl Carol decides it enough and sets the bowl aside. She covers it with the towel she brought up so Sophia can finish it later.

Daryl stands almost instantly and leaves the room first. He hears the door shutting and heads towards the stairs to head down. As he reaches the stairs a hand grabs his wrist. He almost raises his bow in alarm but manages to stop himself. He turns slowly to face Carol. Her cheeks are flushed and she's looking at the ground, nervous.

"What's wrong?" he mumbles.

"I wanted to thank you."

"Didn't do nothin'."

"Stop that," she snaps.

He recoils slightly. "Stop what?"

"Acting like it's no big deal," she says angrily. "You did something amazing. And I know you don't like to show off but you should. I owe you my life."

"No ya don't," he says uneasily.

"I do," she nods. "Sophia _is_ my life. You saved her so you saved me. I owe you big time."

"That bread roll was plenty," he shrugs. "Maybe sneak me another couple and we'll call it even."

She frowns. "That doesn't seem like enough."

"I got to save ya little girl." He smiles, suddenly feeling very proud of himself for actually doing something good, something for someone else. "That and the look on everyone's face when I actually did it is good enough."

"They should all be apologising for doubting you," she whispers.

He gulps slightly. "Wouldn't go that far…"

She loosens her grip on his wrist before resting it lightly on his chest. He flinches but she refuses to move just yet. When he finally relaxes she steps closer then stops, letting him calm himself again. She knows this is out of his comfort zone but she really wants to thank him, to let him _feel_ how thankful she is.

"Carol?" he asks uneasily.

She eventually reaches up onto her tip toes. Daryl instantly drops his bow to the floor and places his hands on her hips so she doesn't fall. He blushes and flinches ever so slightly as Carol places a kiss on his cheek. He has no time to flinch when she moves her lips to press softly against his. He's too shocked to respond in any way but when she pulls away he pouts.

"Like I said, thanks."

"I didn't do enough for that," he breathes. He's disappointed that he didn't respond and that she's now taking a couple of steps back.

"Yes you did," she argues. "And it won't be the last."

"Oh?" he gulps.

"Well, if you want," she shrugs. "I'm not asking you to fall in love with me just…"

She leaves the thought hanging as she turns to go back to Sophia. Daryl stoops down and picks up his bow. "Carol?" he calls as she reaches the door. She turns slowly, hand on the door handle. "You and Sophia come to me for anything from now on, OK?"

A smile spreads across her face. "Do we have a choice?"

He smirks slightly. "Nope."

* * *

_R&R_


End file.
